Opinion: With "Advisers" Like These, Rahul Gandhi Needs No Enemies

Rahul Gandhi's trusted advisors have a penchant for making statements that queer the pitch for the Congress before elections. Sam Pitroda's comment on Ayodhya; his "Jo hua toh hua" (what happened just happened) aside on the 1984 Sikh riots before the 2019 polls; Mani Shankar Aiyar's 'chaiwala' jibe on Narendra Modi in 2014 and his "neech" comment in the run up to 2019 have all been disowned by Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh over the years. But, they caused indelible damage.

Political leadership often relies on the expertise of professionals. However, in the Congress, in recent decades, apolitical professional advisers have emerged as factotum. The idea of a National Advisory Council (NAC), comprising civil society and NGO activists and headed by Sonia Gandhi, was credited to Jairam Ramesh. The NAC became the super-government in the Manmohan Singh era and its impact on governance earned the eminent economist, the harbinger of the 1991 reforms, the charge of "policy paralyses".

Manmohan Singh's pioneering role in opening up the economy in 1991 notwithstanding, the green activist stance of Jairam Ramesh as Environment Minister alienated the industry. He was shifted by the then Prime Minister. His comments muddied the waters for his successor in the Environment Ministry, Jayanthi Natarajan. She faced graft charges, which she was absolved of by courts. The damage to the Congress image endured, impacting its 2014 prospects.

Sam Pitroda, Jairam Ramesh, Mani Shankar Aiyar or, for that matter, former bureaucrat K Raju, whom Rahul Gandhi relies upon over active politicians, are professionals par excellence but none of them have emerged from the ranks of the Congress organisation. They perhaps are alien to the idiom of Indian politics.

The BJP has professionals as ministers but they do not dominate the party's discourse. That role is assigned to those who have risen through the organisation, in the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) or Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Decision-making in the BJP is strictly in the hands of its political nucleus.

Another person Rahul Gandhi is in awe of is psephologist Yogendra Yadav. A core member of Anna Hazare's anti-corruption movement aimed at the Congress regime, Yadav failed to impress Arvind Kejriwal and thus, did not find place in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Having walked with Jairam Ramesh and Rahul Gandhi during the Bharat Jodo Yatra, he is now part of the Rahul think tank.

In the aftermath of the Congress's reverses in the heartland states, Yadav has comforted Rahul Gandhi by calculating that Congress polled 10 lakh votes more than the BJP in the November elections. Sources say he has told Rahul that the Congress can win 28 seats in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, according to his calculations.

Reacting to Yadav's 'calculus', a seasoned Congress leader shared a story about a mathematician who had to cross a river with his family. He calculated the mean flow of water in the river. He calculated his family's collective average height. Along with his son, daughter and wife he started crossing the river. The flow in the middle was strong and the water was deep. One by one, his family members were swept away. The mathematician somehow reached the opposite bank. He revisited his calculation, pulling his hair in despair he shouted, "Nadi ka paani jyon ka tyon, par kunba dooba kyon? (The river remains the same, then why did the family drown?)."

Election strategist Prashant Kishor was credited by many as the architect of the BJP's 2014 strategy. The story goes that after the elections he met Amit Shah and asked, "Mai ke baad kya (what after May)?" Shah apparently replied, "June". Prashant Kishor, who eventually distanced himself from the BJP, continues to advise a potpourri of parties. At one stage, Nitish Kumar appointed him as his second in command in the Janata Dal United (JDU). He quit the party and is now on a padyatra in Bihar. His protege, Sunil Kanugolu, advised the Congress during the Karnataka election. After the Congress won, he was appointed cabinet-rank adviser in the Siddaramaiah government. He was the Congress's strategist for the November state elections. Barring Telangana, his strategising did not work elsewhere.

Opinion in the Congress is divided on the feasibility of the 'hybrid' Bharat Nyay Yatra that Rahul Gandhi is beginning on January 14. Sources in the party say that doubts about the timing and cost of the 65-day march across 14 states. The Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting on December 21 saw even president Mallikarjun Kharge expressing mild reservation as some members questioned its timing.

The Congress has also turned to crowd-funding to refurbish its resources. QR codes were placed behind chairs at the party's 139th anniversary celebration at Nagpur. Participants were encouraged to donate money by clicking on the QR code.

Kharge is said to have suggested to Rahul Gandhi that he is the party's 'face' for the general election campaign and so, may like to devote his energy to key constituencies. To this, Rahul Gandhi's reaction was that his job was to create the 'mahaul' (environment) and the nitty-gritty of the campaign was Kharge's task.

At the Congress Working Committee meeting, apart from pot shots at Kamal Nath for the Madhya Pradesh loss, an interaction between Chhattisgarh's Bhupesh Baghel and some members who alleged that his 'corrupt image' was responsible for the defeat is in circulation. Chagrined, Baghel is said to have retorted that funds are not raised through selling wild berries.

During the campaign, PM Modi had described the Baghel regime as the ATM (any-time money) machine of Congress. The perception was that Baghel managed the funds for the Congress's Uttar Pradesh campaign in 2022 and the Himachal Pradesh polls. Also, Chhattisgarh capital Raipur hosted the Congress plenary endorsing Kharge.

By beginning his Nyay Yatra on January 14, Rahul will sidestep the January 22 mega event in Ayodhya. His choice of Imphal in Manipur - Jairam Ramesh had talked about Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh as the starting point when he announced the Bharat Jodo Yatra 2.0 in March last - is understandable, given his avowed concern for the situation in Manipur.

Jairam Ramesh had called it a Pasighat to Porbandar yatra. Now it is Imphal-Mumbai. The decision to bypass Arunachal Pradesh altogether has prompted leaders like Mahesh Jethmalani - a nominated Rajya Sabha member - to question if the "aversion to Arunachal" stems from the recent stance of China, which has renamed 11 places in the border state it lays claim to. Jethmalani, citing the agreement signed between the then Congress government and the Communist Party of China in 2007, has raised uncomfortable questions.

As Rahul Gandhi launches his second yatra this month, the subject may generate political heat.

(Shubhabrata Bhattacharya is a retired Editor and a public affairs commentator)

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author